Moto Z is “Likely” Getting a Tango Moto Mod

Motorola sure seems to be out of ideas for Moto Mods. Not only have they mostly failed to deliver any meaningful Mods for you and I to buy today, but they are asking for your help with concepts for what customers may actually want to buy. While their implementation of modularity to phones is the best in the business, it’s clear that they are struggling to generate buzz and appeal. With that said, the next potential module could be a nice add-on for tech lovers who want to play with the future of real-life gaming or applications.

According to PCMag, who spoke with Motorola’s current CEO, his company is “likely” to introduce a Project Tango module to the Moto Z. That would mean the experience you’ll see on the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro – world’s first Tango phone – on your Moto Z.

What is Project Tango, or just Tango these days? Tango is Google’s augmented-reality-esque platform that uses multiple cameras to render spaces in real-time, before letting you then interact in those spaces with the phone. It’s a wild idea, one that lets you play games on your coffee table through your phone, checkout furniture in a space before you buy it, measure real-world items, etc.

Since Lenovo and Motorola are one-and-the-same these days, it could be a heck of an idea for Motorola to adopt the Tango stuff that Lenovo has worked on and bring it to the Moto Z. By creating a Moto Mod with multiple cameras that are Tango-ready, a simple slap on the back of a Moto Z could make for a fun experience. Plus, the Moto Z is a much smaller device than the oversized Phab 2 Pro and may be more a more appealing form.

Moto’s CEO didn’t say much else, only that they plan to “lead” the augmented reality market and could do so by bringing the tech to the Moto Z.

Category

Tags

CollapseShowComments

Nice. I got myself the Z play for free. Now if they would just come out with a thin wireless charging mod I’d be all set.

Red

My favorite reddit comment concerning this was something along the lines of, “hey, this will be really cool for the six people that have one!” 🙂

blindexecutioner

Cool. I still don’t get the feeling this adds any value to these proprietary hardware addons they refer to as modular.

bionicwaffle

It sounds like you really just don’t like Moto or the Moto Z and what’s so bad about the selection of Moto Mods? I have the off-grid battery with wireless charging and love that I can charge it by just connecting the cord to charge the phone or charge it separately on my wireless charger. I think a strong case can be made that the Moto Z Force is the best phone ever made with a screen that’s not glass and it’s faster (storage and graphics) than the GS7 Edge (according to Anandtech – the graphics drivers are newer but who knows what Moto did to make the storage so fast even though it uses the same Samsung made flash storage as the GS7). The battery life is excellent. More phones die from broken screens than anything else but that’s not an issue for the Moto Z Force. I got the update to Android N last night! I don’t think it’s on the GS7/GS7edge yet.

I would like the JBL Speaker Moto Mod but I’m not ready to buy it now. I’d like to see a back plate that just has a kick-stand. I’d also like a windshield mount that uses the Moto Mod to attach the phone.

Sporttster

Fantastic…..great idea…. yay for them {looks up what the heck a Tango is…}

Is there any guarantee they’ll still work with whatever Lenovo comes out with in 2017? Even Apple likes making one’s investment in pricey accessories obsolete. The only reason I even considered Best Buy’s recent Z promo was the free Mods — it completely removed any fear they’d be obsolete way before my payment plan ended.

blindexecutioner

Just look at LG. Moto will do the same at some point. There is no way they will never redesign their phones.

Higher_Ground

I don’t know about a guarantee but I did read where they are supposed to work on the 2017 model phones. Beyond that, though, is anyone’s guess (and I’d guess no).

icase

They’ve ‘claimed’ that they’ll be compatible moving forward, but I’d imagine thats going to be for the next and MAYBE the following generation, but obviously its not going to be ‘forever’.

Love my Moto Z Force, despite the noises some folks make about the device. I use the JBL mod nearly every day (kickstand / loud / convenient). Not sure how I feel about Tango, mostly because I haven’t used it yet. Just getting used to Daydream VR!

arthuruscg

For the life of me I can’t understand why the mods were not designed to be stacked. If you are using the projector you want to be able to hear the video and you will need the extra battery power.

Brett Wcislo ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ

I can really use Tango in my business, it’d be great and I plan on purchasing a Tango enabled device. The Phab2 Pro though, is not that device. I’d love to see it put in a tablet. If Moto did this though, I’d almost certainly buy the phone and the mod.

tnt

“it’s clear that they are struggling to generate buzz and appeal” – that’s not going to change no matter what they try. The Z line are really nice phones by themselves. A bit large for my taste, but nice nonetheless. Their implementation of mods is a step above LG’s. But the fact of the matter is this whole mod thing is simply not going to take off. It never has (and never will) be anything more than a niche market at best.

Higher_Ground

If they could ever gain a significant share of the market it would be worth it. I could envision an iphone with mods selling dozens of different designs. I think the bigger issue for me is justifying the price when you’ve already spent so much on the phone to begin with. Hard to make them cheap, yet that’s what will drive adoption.

It’s a new innovative feature that you can’t get with any other smartphone.

discopunkk

My Moto Z Droid got Nougat (7.0) with Nov. 1st security patch this afternoon. I had to laugh because last night I was reading DroidLife’s “Why You Should Never Buy A Droid Phone” or whatever it was titled post. Not a bad phone. So glad I jumped on Best Buy’s Cyber Monday sale. Phone + Wireless charging battery mod + JBL speaker mod for $129.
I do wish there were more mods though. Hopefully some decently priced ones will come out in 2017. Not holding my breath though.

Bobb

Did the same BB deal. Haven’t opened the phone yet as I am waiting on the mod. Still undecided if I want to keep it or not, but will give it a test run

discopunkk

I don’t know if it will be my daily driver or not. To be honest, I forgot how boring stock(ish) Android could be LOL But for the price I paid for what I got this would make one hell of a backup phone. Really digging the battery mod with wireless charging. Can’t wait to get the JBL speaker one.

Mike Aurin

I never thought I’d hear stock called boring on this site. What skin are you favoring?

discopunkk

It’s not that I prefer skins so much as I miss certain features from them. I went from the Note series to the LG V10. They have certain features baked in that you really can’t find or duplicate. Back when I had Nexuses I was rooting and ROMing. In a perfect world I’d be able to merge all the features from skins that I like with stock.

AJ

I jumped on the same deal. $119 for everything (speaker and battery…both were in stock!). You honestly and truly can’t beat that deal at all. A brand new high end phone with accessories for $119? Great for people like me that were forced to go back to an older phone after the Note 7 disaster. I can use the Moto Z until the new phone i really want comes out next year. I really like the projector mod…just don’t want to pay 300 dollars for it.

Vedadmccarthy

Google is paying 97$ per hour! Work for few hours and have longer with friends & family! !mj78d:
On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $8752 this last four weeks.. Its the most-financialy rewarding I’ve had.. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it
!mj78d:
➽➽
➽➽;➽➽ http://GoogleFinancialJobsCash78MediaServerGetPay$97Hour… ★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★::::::!mj78d:….,……

discopunkk

It is a great deal and one I couldn’t pass up. Why not give it a try you know? I too wanted to get my hands on a Note 7. I really like my LG V10 but the V20 didn’t “do it” for me and the Pixel was a let down in terms of what I was looking for in a phone.
Still waiting for the speaker mod to arrive. Oddly enough the Incipio mod was listed as backordered however it arrived the same day as the phone. The projector looks nifty but I agree that it is extremely overpriced for what you get.

Suicide_Note

Kurt McMaster would be better off putting a bullet through Moto’s head. Put them out of their misery.

Jessica Durden

Rude!

Suicide_Note

But true.

sc0rch3d

few ideas…
– storage, like money clip or for ear buds or keys
– insanely bright flash light
– keyboard/controller
– accessory for car mounts
– dunno if it has qi-like charging, but another mod if it doesn’t

srsly, they’ve run out of ideas?

MJ

None of your ideas seem very appealing…

If I need to swap on a mod for wireless charging that defeats the whole benefit of wireless charging. LOL

A flash light mod? I already carry a flash light around so how does carrying a flash light mod around solve anything?

sc0rch3d

my ideas were geared more towards the lower end of the spend spectrum since most of the MODs seem near 100 or way over that. I think we’re coming closer to an age where you ONLY need to carry a phone and nothing else. make some MODs that help us get there.

Jeb Barrett

Let me correct that. I think he meant to say a Fleshlight mod. Come on. We know what drives technology.

Higher_Ground

well, I see the appeal – but not at the price point they’re going to ask. None of those features would really be worth more than the generic style mods price of $20.

MJ

$20? That’s like the price of a phone case. These ideas aren’t money makers than…